For Goa and genuine Goans like me, in the history of Goa, two tragic events have taken place which adversely affected the good of Goa and good of genuine Goans. One event was that on 19th December 1961 when Goa was invaded by Bharat thru its mighty Military power and thus forcibly annexing the tiny Goa to the mighty ocean called Bharat and the second event was the formation of Dayananda Bandodkar’s 3 Members Ministry of Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party in Goa in the first ever election of Goa Legislative Assembly.
No doubt Goa had to be liberated from the Portuguese colonialism but definitely not the way it was conquered and annexed to Bharat. I did not want to be a part of Bharat which is full of corruption with corrupt politicians ruling the nation thereby corrupting the nation and sucking the blood of poor masses. Some of the poor countries that got independence after India got from the British have done tremendous improvement while India is still suffering from worst and cursed poverty and corruption. Atom Bombs are not giving us food to eat and life security for the common person. The little development that India made is enjoyed by the upper class of Indians more. Goans like me wanted to oust Portuguese from Goa but surely not to replace by another Portuguese artificially implanted on Goa in the form of Bharat. Since Goa was annexed by Bharat the Babus and Ghanttis of Bharat have started dominating over the destiny of Goa and Goans by ignoring the history, culture, tradition and language of Goa. From 19th December 1961 Goans are made puppets of Bharat. This is not the true liberation and genuine Goans will never agree to such liberation. Because of this event Goa is failing genuine Goans and it is too late now to recover the genuine Goa. It is lost forever. Bharat is lording over Goa now and third class “chor” Bharatis are replacing genuine Goans and dominating over Goans and the destiny of Goans. Bharatis are already influencing Goans with their harsh, communal, cruel and dirty cultural and traditional habits which are against the interest of Goa and genuine Goans. RIP genuine Goa and genuine Goans.
The second event was the election of MGP to form the first Ministry of Goa under the late Dayananda Bandodkar whose birth centenary some lovers of Bandodkar are celebrating with pomp in Goa now. In fact they have planned to celebrate his birth centenary throughout this year. Is Dayananda Bandodkar worthy of this celebration when he betrayed Goa and genuine Goans with a Judas Kiss? Was he not a traitor of Goa who let us GENUINE Goans down? I am not a bastardised Goan, I am a genuine Goan as I know my genuine Goan father very well who was legally married to my mother in the Court and in the Church and as such I remained faithful to my land. I even as a small boy always supported the cause of genuine Goa and genuine Goans. Bandodkar by opting to give Goa on Silver Platter to Maharastra and replace Goan language Konkani with Marathi has done great injustice to Goa and genuine Goans. His wish was to liquidate Konkani from Goa and in its place bring a foreign language Marathi into Goa. This was like Portuguese language implanting on Goa by the colonialist Portuguese and making Goans adore a foreign language.
Dayananda Bandodkar was communal of first grade. For him Bahujan Samaz means only Hindu Bahujan Samaj. He showed his total bias against Christians. He never realized that Christian Bahujan Samaz also suffered from the persecution of Christao Bamonn Bhattkars during the Portuguese era. Because of his anti-Christao feelings Christao Bahujan Samaz had to support UGP even though during the Portuguese regime the aristocratic members of UGP suppressed and harassed Christao Bahujan Samaz also. Instead of making a class war Bandodkar made a communal war in Goa by deviding Goans into Hindus and Christao. In the bargain, Christao were alienated from the MGP fold and all the major benefits were enjoyed by the Hindus only especially the Hindu Bahujan Samaz. It is a fact that Bandodkar identified himself with the down trodden Hindu Samaz and gave them a strong booster by giving them the sense of identity. During his rule in Goa Christao were considered or at least made to feel that they are the second class citizens of Goa. Good that he died at that time only otherwise he would totally alienate Christao from the mainstream of Goa as he already portrayed Christao as anti-national. Unfortunately for Christao in Goa its leader at Panjim Altinho failed to declare in a loud voice that Christao are as national as any other Goan by citing only one example that the first Indian to raise the voice of Indians for the liberation not only of Goa but also for India was Christao Dr. Francis Luis Gomes in a foreign land much before Nehrus and Gandhis. During his later part of rule Bndodkar was like an absolute Monarch, he could make and mar anybody and anything. By using all his powers, political and financial he made almost everyone as his subjects. By this time majority of Goans surrendered to his diktats by giving him total obedience. During his last stages he had almost entire Goa under his thumb and if he was alive to fight the next election, his MGP would win almost all the Seats in Goa Legislative Assembly.
With the birth of MGP, in Goa Bandodkar brought liking for non Goans especially for Maharastrians and for Marathi language just like Portuguez attracted liking for non-Goan Portuguese. Bandodkar said he was against external power in Goa meaning Portuguese but he was once a big “Lembddo” of Portuguese regime in Goa and to flourish his mining business he volunteered to do anything for the Portuguese rulers in Goa. In one way he opposed external power in Goa but on the other hand he embraced external power of Maharastra in Goa, how ridiculous is it!! During his rule in Goa the genuine Goans were on their toes constantly to keep his anti-Goan and anti-Konkani activities on check. Till his death he spoiled the peace of genuine Goans by making them to fight against his anti-Goan and anti-Konkani activities. During his entire rule in Goa he gave lot of troubles to genuine Goa lover Goans. By supporting Maharastra and Marathi he has done great injustice to Goa and genuine Goans who loved separate identity for Goa with Konkani as its official language. He has done great disservice to the feelings and causes of Goa and Goans. It was he who opened the door of Goa wide for non-Goans especially for Maharastrians and deputionists. The way we were made to bow down our heads in front of non-Goan Portuguese in the same way he made us to bow down our heads in front of third class anti-Goan Maharastrians brought from Maharastra and deputionists from Delhi. He was always anti-genuine Goans and anti-Christians. The genuine patriots of Goa must boycott his celebration marking his birth centenary. In Kuwait there is a move to have a meet to highlight not his achievement but his work against Goa and genuine Goans. I will never accept him as a patriot of Goa but as an enemy of Goa and genuine Goans. I will always consider him as the TRAITOR OF GOA. For me Dayananda Bandodkar will be always remembered as Anti-Goan, Anti-Goan Language Konkani, Anti-Goan Culture and Anti-Christian.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
March 22, 2010
March 21, 2010
All Izz "Sit" in Goa's State Archives.
ALL IZZ 'SIT' IN GOA'S STATE ARCHIVES
By Bernardo de Sousa
Any visit to Goa needs to start with a wallet refueling stop at a bank. Having connections
speeds up that process. In the Mapusa bank we went to, a lady was seated at a desk,
dozing peacefully; she suddenly woke up, picked up a ball, rolled it on the desk, then
returned to dozing. We later learnt that banks are required to hire personnel belonging to
scheduled castes/tribes. Being a local bank, this occurs through the intercession of an
MLA: the candidate controlling the largest number of votes gets the job. A win-win
situation: our aspiring athlete gets a salary, the MLA gets the votes. Thus, “vote bank”
politics ensure the “upliftment” of the downtrodden.
My contact at the bank being away, I was instructed to head upstairs. The scene was
chaotic: no boards indicating which counter handled which transaction, people rushing to
any counter that was manned. An acquaintance said he would call Mr. X and guided us to
a pair of chairs with a parting instruction: “Sit” -- an instruction I would repeatedly
encounter in Goa with devastating consequences.
After about an hour, I managed to obtain from Mr. X the prized ATM card that, sadly,
failed to function until our departure. For expediency, we cashed traveler’s cheques at
Vivanta hotel in Panaji, where the transaction absorbed all of three minutes flat -- the
most efficient and friendliest service I have ever encountered anywhere on the planet.
Our wallet thus replenished, we headed to the State Archives, Panaji, where I wished to
consult a list of historical documents.
We were greeted at the ground floor by an overpowering smell of naphthalene,
attempting unsuccessfully to mask the odours from the nearby toilet. The strong influence
of carnival in Goa is not to be underestimated – a vote bank mask at the bank, a
naphthalene mask at the State Archives.
The clerk at a counter instructed me to go upstairs to see the manager. I did not quite
comprehend why but arguments would only waste time. We were invited into the
manager’s cramped office. “Sit!” he instructed. Not again! After reading my list, he
confirmed that the documents were public; we were thus in violent agreement but the
documents still eluded me.
I was now instructed to cross the corridor to the public documents section; as we did so,
we saw a lady sitting on a bench, resting one of her feet on it, blissfully cutting her toe-
nails. I did not need an explanation: another vote bank mask with an aspiring beautician
replacing an aspiring athlete.
In the public domain, five persons were seated at five desks, engaged in deep
conversation, otherwise doing nothing. I showed one of them the titles of the documents.
She looked at it and shouted to her colleague a few meters away. Having been
disdainfully ignored twice, she approached the recalcitrant colleague, exchanged a few
furious words, returned, turned to me and ordered: “Sit”.
Decidedly, “sit” was becoming the bane of my short holiday. In my mind, I silently
slipped an “h” in between the “sit” but refrained from vocalising my thought.
Explaining to us children the intricacies of traditional Goan hospitality, our father once
recounted that guests were routinely greeted with the Konkani phrase: “Ailoi, io, bosloi,
bos, kashti sodd, lepti kha” – loosely translated “you have arrived, please come in, sit
down, loosen your loin-cloth, share our food”. I did not expect these five uncooperative
chair-warmers to share their food but there was no escaping the instruction to sit. I
politely but resolutely declined. The lady repeated her instruction except that this time it
was an order: “Sit”.
The situation was turning hopeless. Asked how long this was going to take, she muttered:
“5 minutes”. My heart sank: in Goa, 5 minutes encompass any span between 5 minutes
and eternity. I heard my wife say that she had been handed a form that I was required to
complete hence, sitting down may not be a bad idea. Her pragmatic logic carrying the day,
I sat down, opened the small rucksack containing my pen and other items. “You have to
keep your bag downstairs,” said the recalcitrant librarian, who had just concluded his
yogic meditation and was back in command barking out his orders.
I explained to him that I had carried my rucksack all this time from the counter
downstairs, transiting through his manager’s office into the public documents section,
without anyone’s objection until then. He repeated his order, this time raising his voice.
Another mask, what was his bark really masking? Resentment because I was an NRI, PIO
or OCI? Or because I had not presented him with a motivating incentive in an envelope?
Do they still insist on envelopes, or would plain cash do? Or was he another vote bank
beneficiary who resented having been disturbed from his reverie or conversation? I had
had enough of this rude, uncooperative, unhelpful, obstructionist and bureaucratic
attitude of the Goa State Archives staff. I got up, returned the form to the lady who had
given it, and walked out.
Back in the taxi, our friend suggested visiting the Central Library instead. Indeed, I was
led to the relevant section immediately - and could finally consult and photograph the
documents of interest. I now understood why the Central Library was so well frequented
whereas, excepting staff, not a soul other than my wife, our friend and I were present at
the public documents section of the State Archives.
This time around, when a kindly member of the Central Library staff pulled up a chair
and asked me to sit, I was delighted to comply.
====================================================================
The above article appeared in HERALD (Goa) of March 21, 2010
By Bernardo de Sousa
Any visit to Goa needs to start with a wallet refueling stop at a bank. Having connections
speeds up that process. In the Mapusa bank we went to, a lady was seated at a desk,
dozing peacefully; she suddenly woke up, picked up a ball, rolled it on the desk, then
returned to dozing. We later learnt that banks are required to hire personnel belonging to
scheduled castes/tribes. Being a local bank, this occurs through the intercession of an
MLA: the candidate controlling the largest number of votes gets the job. A win-win
situation: our aspiring athlete gets a salary, the MLA gets the votes. Thus, “vote bank”
politics ensure the “upliftment” of the downtrodden.
My contact at the bank being away, I was instructed to head upstairs. The scene was
chaotic: no boards indicating which counter handled which transaction, people rushing to
any counter that was manned. An acquaintance said he would call Mr. X and guided us to
a pair of chairs with a parting instruction: “Sit” -- an instruction I would repeatedly
encounter in Goa with devastating consequences.
After about an hour, I managed to obtain from Mr. X the prized ATM card that, sadly,
failed to function until our departure. For expediency, we cashed traveler’s cheques at
Vivanta hotel in Panaji, where the transaction absorbed all of three minutes flat -- the
most efficient and friendliest service I have ever encountered anywhere on the planet.
Our wallet thus replenished, we headed to the State Archives, Panaji, where I wished to
consult a list of historical documents.
We were greeted at the ground floor by an overpowering smell of naphthalene,
attempting unsuccessfully to mask the odours from the nearby toilet. The strong influence
of carnival in Goa is not to be underestimated – a vote bank mask at the bank, a
naphthalene mask at the State Archives.
The clerk at a counter instructed me to go upstairs to see the manager. I did not quite
comprehend why but arguments would only waste time. We were invited into the
manager’s cramped office. “Sit!” he instructed. Not again! After reading my list, he
confirmed that the documents were public; we were thus in violent agreement but the
documents still eluded me.
I was now instructed to cross the corridor to the public documents section; as we did so,
we saw a lady sitting on a bench, resting one of her feet on it, blissfully cutting her toe-
nails. I did not need an explanation: another vote bank mask with an aspiring beautician
replacing an aspiring athlete.
In the public domain, five persons were seated at five desks, engaged in deep
conversation, otherwise doing nothing. I showed one of them the titles of the documents.
She looked at it and shouted to her colleague a few meters away. Having been
disdainfully ignored twice, she approached the recalcitrant colleague, exchanged a few
furious words, returned, turned to me and ordered: “Sit”.
Decidedly, “sit” was becoming the bane of my short holiday. In my mind, I silently
slipped an “h” in between the “sit” but refrained from vocalising my thought.
Explaining to us children the intricacies of traditional Goan hospitality, our father once
recounted that guests were routinely greeted with the Konkani phrase: “Ailoi, io, bosloi,
bos, kashti sodd, lepti kha” – loosely translated “you have arrived, please come in, sit
down, loosen your loin-cloth, share our food”. I did not expect these five uncooperative
chair-warmers to share their food but there was no escaping the instruction to sit. I
politely but resolutely declined. The lady repeated her instruction except that this time it
was an order: “Sit”.
The situation was turning hopeless. Asked how long this was going to take, she muttered:
“5 minutes”. My heart sank: in Goa, 5 minutes encompass any span between 5 minutes
and eternity. I heard my wife say that she had been handed a form that I was required to
complete hence, sitting down may not be a bad idea. Her pragmatic logic carrying the day,
I sat down, opened the small rucksack containing my pen and other items. “You have to
keep your bag downstairs,” said the recalcitrant librarian, who had just concluded his
yogic meditation and was back in command barking out his orders.
I explained to him that I had carried my rucksack all this time from the counter
downstairs, transiting through his manager’s office into the public documents section,
without anyone’s objection until then. He repeated his order, this time raising his voice.
Another mask, what was his bark really masking? Resentment because I was an NRI, PIO
or OCI? Or because I had not presented him with a motivating incentive in an envelope?
Do they still insist on envelopes, or would plain cash do? Or was he another vote bank
beneficiary who resented having been disturbed from his reverie or conversation? I had
had enough of this rude, uncooperative, unhelpful, obstructionist and bureaucratic
attitude of the Goa State Archives staff. I got up, returned the form to the lady who had
given it, and walked out.
Back in the taxi, our friend suggested visiting the Central Library instead. Indeed, I was
led to the relevant section immediately - and could finally consult and photograph the
documents of interest. I now understood why the Central Library was so well frequented
whereas, excepting staff, not a soul other than my wife, our friend and I were present at
the public documents section of the State Archives.
This time around, when a kindly member of the Central Library staff pulled up a chair
and asked me to sit, I was delighted to comply.
====================================================================
The above article appeared in HERALD (Goa) of March 21, 2010
March 19, 2010
ON COLVA CD & IN SUPPORT OF PRODUCER CALVERT GONSALVES.
From: Joseph Fernandes.
To: goa-kranti.
Dear Mr.Veronica,
I am from Sernabatim (Colva) and I’d like to thank you for highlighting the “Dogui Bodmas” CD case in a big way. It takes lots of courage to come out with alternative news that is not covered by the so called ‘fourth estate’. It is highly appreciated by us in Sernabatim that you put in that extra effort to meet Calvert regarding his CD and got to be aware of the ground situation first hand. The CD producer has only tried to convey a message to the people of Goa through a medium they best understand. I know Calvert personally and all that he is trying to do is to get the church authorities to wake up and act against some errant priests who are out to rob various parishes of Goa. In no way the CD is trying to defame or malign the Catholic faith. It has only tried to expose the scandalous lives of some priests like Fr.Diogo in the Catholic church of Goa and the reluctance by the church higher ups to correct these priests.
Since the release of the CD, Calvert has had to undergo a lot of distress in his life. People were even hired to attack him and his family. That is the price that one pays in Goa for speaking the truth against ministers and the church. Harassment at the hands of police and authorities is nothing new for Calvert; it has been going on for the last few years since the time he was elected back by the people of our ward in spite of political pressure by Mickky. Calvert is always known for being unconventional and is not the type who will bow down to political or any type of pressure. He has always had the courage to say that white is white and black is black. We have always supported him whenever he has had to make tough decisions and this time too we are with him in order to save our church properties from this ‘builder’ priest.
I read somewhere one so called journalist was wondering what kind of people have elected Calvert to the Panchayat. Let me tell this ignorant gentleman that builders are kept away from Sernabatim by electing Calvert to the Panchayat. When the minister tried to force his uneducated, rougish, fighter bull owner candidate on the people, they resisted and rallied behind an educated, smart and courageous leader who has done a lot of development for not only his own ward but entire Sernabatim. Many people have sort to criticize Calvert for producing the Konkani CD by stating the classic goan phrase ‘padrincher add ulounk zaina”. But should we remain mute when the priests live immoral lives? Should everyone remain silent and let the the priests sell our church properties?
The sensible people of Colva have decided not to allow this priest Fr Diogo to get away with his foul intentions. That is the reason why proper representations were made to the Bishop asking him to intervene and address the issue. The people did not even get a proper audience with the Bishop. I guess that the letters handed over to the Bishops palace must have been dumped in some dust bin because the Bishop and his associates at Altinho feel that we have to blindly obey their orders come what may. It is quite amusing to read the allegations against Calvert in different forums. One allegation was that Calvert is a real estate developer. Let me correct them by saying that it is true that Calvert has done several property deals in and around Colva - Sernabatim. However none of these properties have been sold to people outside the village, forget selling them to non goans. All these properties were bought by Calvert from the landlords of Sernabatim and sold to the youth mostly coming from fishing families. The properties were even sold at a price well below the market rate so that our local boys could afford them. Today the youth of Sernabatim are doing tourism related businesses or have built new homes for themselves in these properties. It is wrong to categorize Calvert as a typical real estate developer of Goa.
Another allegation I read was regarding lamanis. It is not a recent allegation against Calvert. It was first started in 1992 when Calvert was in the forefront to drive away lamanis from Colva beach. I can recollect that a lady Panch member had taken the market fee collection. Hence Calvert’s drive to get rid of lamanis from the beach area only angered her because it deprived her of a huge additional money collection. This Panch member concentrated on her pocket and the village did not matter to her. Hence the allegation was invented against Calvert to discourage him from conducting the drive to get rid of Lamanis from the beach area. Unlike Colva the Sernabatim beach does not have any ‘lamani’ settlements and it is almost completely free from these pesky hawkers because of efforts put in by Calvert. The only lamanis present are in a few shops belonging to a henchman of the minister.
I would like to conclude by stating, ‘Don’t kill the messenger”. We the parishioners of Colva need support from all quarters to save our church properties. We need support to stop the moral bankruptcy and bankruptcy of the minds of our gullible villagers. At the recent inauguration of the new Colva School, Francisco Sardinha openly said “Fr Diogo is the Shahinsha of builders”. Not Shahinsha of Priests. What a shame!! A Priest is suppose to be a spiritual guide etc and an ambassador of God. Sardinha is not wrong in his description. Today it is happening in our parish and in our village it could be your parish tomorrow.
Adeus. Mog Assum Dhi.
Joseph Fernandes.
To: goa-kranti.
Dear Mr.Veronica,
I am from Sernabatim (Colva) and I’d like to thank you for highlighting the “Dogui Bodmas” CD case in a big way. It takes lots of courage to come out with alternative news that is not covered by the so called ‘fourth estate’. It is highly appreciated by us in Sernabatim that you put in that extra effort to meet Calvert regarding his CD and got to be aware of the ground situation first hand. The CD producer has only tried to convey a message to the people of Goa through a medium they best understand. I know Calvert personally and all that he is trying to do is to get the church authorities to wake up and act against some errant priests who are out to rob various parishes of Goa. In no way the CD is trying to defame or malign the Catholic faith. It has only tried to expose the scandalous lives of some priests like Fr.Diogo in the Catholic church of Goa and the reluctance by the church higher ups to correct these priests.
Since the release of the CD, Calvert has had to undergo a lot of distress in his life. People were even hired to attack him and his family. That is the price that one pays in Goa for speaking the truth against ministers and the church. Harassment at the hands of police and authorities is nothing new for Calvert; it has been going on for the last few years since the time he was elected back by the people of our ward in spite of political pressure by Mickky. Calvert is always known for being unconventional and is not the type who will bow down to political or any type of pressure. He has always had the courage to say that white is white and black is black. We have always supported him whenever he has had to make tough decisions and this time too we are with him in order to save our church properties from this ‘builder’ priest.
I read somewhere one so called journalist was wondering what kind of people have elected Calvert to the Panchayat. Let me tell this ignorant gentleman that builders are kept away from Sernabatim by electing Calvert to the Panchayat. When the minister tried to force his uneducated, rougish, fighter bull owner candidate on the people, they resisted and rallied behind an educated, smart and courageous leader who has done a lot of development for not only his own ward but entire Sernabatim. Many people have sort to criticize Calvert for producing the Konkani CD by stating the classic goan phrase ‘padrincher add ulounk zaina”. But should we remain mute when the priests live immoral lives? Should everyone remain silent and let the the priests sell our church properties?
The sensible people of Colva have decided not to allow this priest Fr Diogo to get away with his foul intentions. That is the reason why proper representations were made to the Bishop asking him to intervene and address the issue. The people did not even get a proper audience with the Bishop. I guess that the letters handed over to the Bishops palace must have been dumped in some dust bin because the Bishop and his associates at Altinho feel that we have to blindly obey their orders come what may. It is quite amusing to read the allegations against Calvert in different forums. One allegation was that Calvert is a real estate developer. Let me correct them by saying that it is true that Calvert has done several property deals in and around Colva - Sernabatim. However none of these properties have been sold to people outside the village, forget selling them to non goans. All these properties were bought by Calvert from the landlords of Sernabatim and sold to the youth mostly coming from fishing families. The properties were even sold at a price well below the market rate so that our local boys could afford them. Today the youth of Sernabatim are doing tourism related businesses or have built new homes for themselves in these properties. It is wrong to categorize Calvert as a typical real estate developer of Goa.
Another allegation I read was regarding lamanis. It is not a recent allegation against Calvert. It was first started in 1992 when Calvert was in the forefront to drive away lamanis from Colva beach. I can recollect that a lady Panch member had taken the market fee collection. Hence Calvert’s drive to get rid of lamanis from the beach area only angered her because it deprived her of a huge additional money collection. This Panch member concentrated on her pocket and the village did not matter to her. Hence the allegation was invented against Calvert to discourage him from conducting the drive to get rid of Lamanis from the beach area. Unlike Colva the Sernabatim beach does not have any ‘lamani’ settlements and it is almost completely free from these pesky hawkers because of efforts put in by Calvert. The only lamanis present are in a few shops belonging to a henchman of the minister.
I would like to conclude by stating, ‘Don’t kill the messenger”. We the parishioners of Colva need support from all quarters to save our church properties. We need support to stop the moral bankruptcy and bankruptcy of the minds of our gullible villagers. At the recent inauguration of the new Colva School, Francisco Sardinha openly said “Fr Diogo is the Shahinsha of builders”. Not Shahinsha of Priests. What a shame!! A Priest is suppose to be a spiritual guide etc and an ambassador of God. Sardinha is not wrong in his description. Today it is happening in our parish and in our village it could be your parish tomorrow.
Adeus. Mog Assum Dhi.
Joseph Fernandes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)